Take a Breath and Run
by fanwriter1245
Summary: When Aria runs into her old best friend from middle school while visiting Jurassic World, she decides to tag along with him and his younger brother, eager to catch up with both of them. However, the innocent trip will soon turn into a fight for survival. And Aria and Zach may realize that after all these years, there may be something more between them. Zach/OC
1. Chance Meeting

Zach was less than thrilled. Which was really saying something considering that he was at a park filled with living, breathing dinosaurs. Maybe it was the humidity that came with Costa Rica. Or maybe it was Gray's constant excitement and rambling about some dinosaur. Or maybe it was the fact that his girlfriend, Bethany, was getting on his last nerve. Or maybe it was the fact that Aunt Claire had dumped him and his brother off on her assistant, neither of which really seemed to give a crap about them.

Whatever the case was, he wasn't in the best mood.

Sure there were a lot of hot girls here. That helped immensely. He caught himself staring at a lot of them and flirting with others, which helped his mood considerably. But there was a shred of guilt inside of him about Bethany, and how he shouldn't be doing all of that when he had a girlfriend. Though to be honest, he wasn't even sure when they became an official couple. They hadn't even really been out on a real date unless going to prom together counted. He was fairly certain it didn't.

She was nice enough and she was gorgeous, but sometimes she didn't really seem to understand the fact that other people existed besides her and Zach. She constantly wanted to talk to him and spend time with him, not really caring if he already had plans with someone else, and she was always forcing him to come with her when she went out with friends. He was pretty sure she was only bringing him along to rub in the fact that she had a boyfriend and her friends didn't, which really made him upset. If that was the only reason she was dating him, then what was the point of their relationship?

"Zach?" a voice said, shaking him from his thoughts. "Zach Mitchell?"

He looked over to find a girl his age coming toward him. There was something really familiar about her…

"It's me, Aria!"

Aria? There was no way that the girl in front of him was his old friend from middle school. The last time he saw her, she was a geeky person with glasses and braces, and she hadn't exactly been overweight, but she hadn't really been thin either. Now…there were no words to describe how he saw her.

"Aria?" he finally said. She smiled as he recognized her and gave him an awkward hug. "Wow…you look different."

"I know," she smiled. "Getting out of middle school can really fix things. You know those are certainly the awkward years of pretty much everyone's lives."

"Well…"

"You can say it. I looked like a total nerd. But I got my braces off and decided to get contacts and I joined a gym, so that's all behind me now."

"No kidding."

Aria looked over to see Zach's brother. "Gray, right?" she asked. The younger boy nodded. "The last time I saw you, I think you were about seven years old. It's okay if you don't remember me. I'm Aria. Zach and I were, well, best friends in elementary school. We kind of lost contact in middle school after I moved."

"Right," Gray said as he shook her hand. "I can sort of remember you."

"I can't believe you're both here! Are you with your parents?"

Aria could've sworn Gray's shoulders fell a little at the question, but he didn't say anything.

"No, we're here with our Aunt Claire," Zach answered. "Well, sort of. She dumped us on the assistant, Zara."

Aria looked over to find a woman with long black hair talking on her cell phone. "She looks…professional."

"Exactly. Mom said it was a 'family weekend'," Zach said, putting air quotes around 'family weekend'. "But so far, we've only seen Aunt Claire for about sixty seconds."

"Oh. Well, hey, my friends left to go back to the resort, so can I hang with you? I'm not exactly ready to call it a day yet."

"Sure."

Zach let a shadow of a smile cross his face. Maybe the trip wouldn't be too bad.

He looked back at Zara and saw that she was distracted.

"Scatter," he said quietly.

"What?" Gray and Aria asked confused. They both looked back at Zara, who was looking the other way as she continued to talk on her phone, and got the message.

"Go. Run. Go! Go, go!"

The three of them ran off and found themselves back on Main Street.

"The next T-Rex feeding will begin in 10 minutes," the woman over the speaker said.

"T-Rex!" Gray shouted, jumping up and down. "Come on, guys! Come on!"

"Okay!" Zach sighed.

"Let's go!"

"Your brother is so cute," Aria remarked as she and Zach followed Gray to the T-Rex feeding.

"Whatever," Zach scoffed.

Aria playfully narrowed her eyes. "Alright, now this isn't the Zach I remember. When did you become too good for anyone else?"

"That's not how it is."

"It's how you've acted so far. I know high school can be rough and all, but…"

"Come on, we're gonna lose him."

Aria rolled her eyes and they finally caught up with Gray in the T-Rex paddock where the viewing area was disguised as a fallen tree. A goat was chained up and a robotic arm tossed a flare next to it to get the dinosaur's attention. Gray jumped to try to see over people's heads before he finally just shoved his way to the front.

Aria's stomach dropped as she watched the large carnivore appear and rip into the poor, helpless animal. It was disgusting, but at the same time, she couldn't look away.

"Hey, Mom," Zach said next to her. Aria turned to find him on his cell phone. "Yeah, I guess. Aunt Claire gave us passes so we don't have to wait in line…No, she had to work or something. Hey, I ran into Aria of all people…Yeah, I know…I should go. Gray's getting antsy…Bye." He hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. "She said hi."

Aria smiled and let out a small laugh. "Where are you headed next?"

"I dunno. I'm just following Gray around."

"You know, you could at least try to have a little fun. You're at a park with actual living dinosaurs. Most people would be really into it."

"Whatever."

Gray excitedly left the viewing area and headed over to the giant pool to see the Mosasaurus show. Aria had already seen it earlier with her other friends, but she didn't mind seeing it again. Besides, the humidity was beginning to get to her, so a nice cool-off would be greatly welcomed.

Gray, Zach, and Aria found seats near the front of the large pool. Gray started rambling off facts about the dinosaur, and Aria patiently listened to him since Zach wasn't doing so. Gray seemed really thankful that at least one person was paying attention to him. Zach was video chatting with some girl who looked more than a little peeved.

"Who is she?" Aria heard.

"It's just a friend, Bethany," Zach sighed. "We've been friends since elementary school and we happened to run into each other. She's just hanging with us for a while. I _am_ allowed to hang out with my friends too."

"Yeah, fine. So, I was thinking that when you get back, we could hang out with Adam and Nikki and go see that new movie we all wanted to see."

Zach chose not to tell her that he had previously expressed disinterest in seeing the movie she was talking about. That was why he was getting fed up with her. She never seemed to pay attention to what he said and acted like what he wanted didn't matter.

"Who's he talking to?" Aria asked Gray in the middle of his speech.

"That's his girlfriend, Bethany."

"Zach has a girlfriend?"

"Sort of. She's nice and all, but she can be a bit…possessive," Gray said, lowering his voice on the last word so neither Bethany nor Zach could hear him.

"Is that why he's being such a stick in the mud lately?"

"I think so. That and…other things."

Aria was about to ask more, but a woman came out and started the show. She kind of tuned out since she had already seen all of this only a few hours ago.

She began thinking back over what Gray had said. From what she could see, Zach didn't really seem all that interested in this Bethany girl, judging from the fact that he sounded a bit irritated when he talked with her. And even Gray admitted that she was the reason he was acting so apathetic. If that was the case, why was he even dating her? Why would he want a girlfriend who turned him into a stick in the mud?

And Aria wasn't stupid. She could see him staring at all of the girls around him. Typical teenage boy behavior. But if he really liked Bethany, then she would be all he ever wanted to see. He wouldn't want to look at all those other girls the way he was.

Aria began imagining what a perfect boyfriend would be like for her. He would know all the things she liked, he would know her strengths and weaknesses, he would know what to do when she was hurting, he would constantly treat her like she was the only girl in his life, he would know when she was upset and when she was happy, he would just…know everything.

"The Mosasaurus was thought to have hunted near the surface of the water where it preyed on anything it could sink its teeth into, including turtles, large fish, even smaller Mosasaurus. Okay, folks, let's see if she's still hungry after already eating today."

Aria snapped out of her thoughts and looked up, preparing for the inevitable. A shark was lifted over the water by crane which always reminded her a little of _Jaws_.

"She's a little shy, so be nice and give her a hand when she comes out."

"Zach!" Gray said excitedly, hitting him in the shoulder to pull his attention away from Bethany. "The Mosasaurus!"

"I'd put your phone away," Aria told him. "Like in the next two seconds."

Zach hurriedly shoved his phone in his pocket, which he was sure Bethany would give him grief about later, as a huge dinosaur came out of the water and ate the shark. Then it came crashing down back into the water which sent a huge wave in their direction. Within seconds, they were soaked from head to toe. Zach started laughing and Aria realized how much he didn't do that anymore. She tried to deny the fact that his laugh looked really, really cute.

"Hold on tight," the announcer said as the seats started to move below the pool. "We're gonna give you an even closer look at our Mosasaurus."

Now able to see the whole creature, Aria was reminded of just how huge the animal was. It swam around and quickly gobbled up what was left of the shark. The crowd around her started cheering fiercely at the dinosaur's actions. It was gross, but admittedly it was kind of cool.

"It had 88 teeth!" Gray exclaimed.

"Hey, you wanna see something else cool?" Zach asked.

"Yeah!"


	2. Riding the Gyrosphere

The three of them all went onto the monorail that would take them over to the Gyrospheres. Aria hadn't gotten a chance to try out the attraction yet, due to her friends not wanting to be that close to the adult dinosaurs, so she was rather excited that she would finally get to experience it.

Zach and Gray sat together while Aria sat on the seat in front of them. It took about ten seconds for Zach to start flirting with the girls behind him. Aria rolled her eyes again. How was any girl ever supposed to date him if he just kept looking and flirting with other girls when he already had a girlfriend?

Aria watched as Zach pulled out his phone and pressed the 'Decline' button to Bethany's video chat call for the hundredth time. Again, she couldn't help but wonder why they were even dating when he didn't seem to like her.

"If Mom and Dad get divorced, will one of us be with Mom and the other with Dad?" Gray asked out of the blue.

The question knocked Aria right out of her thoughts and she turned all her attention to the boy behind her.

"What?" Zach asked disbelievingly, hoping the girls behind him didn't hear the question. "Why would you say that?"

"Because they are."

"No, they're not getting…They're not getting divorced. Look, you haven't been around long enough. They've always been that way."

"They get mail from two different lawyers."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"I Google'd. They're divorce lawyers."

A tear ran down Gray's cheek which made Aria's heart go out to him. She just wanted to hug him tightly and never let him go.

"All right, whatever."

Aria looked at Zach hardly, appalled at his lack of emotion. If he said 'whatever' one more time, she would feed him to a dinosaur.

"You know what? It doesn't matter. Okay? I'm gonna be gone in two years anyway. All my friends' parents are divorced." He looked over and saw the tears coming from Gray's eyes. "Hey, knock it off. You gonna cry?"

"Zach," Aria said sharply.

"Look, you're gonna get two of everything. Right? Two birthdays, two Thanksgivings. Two—"

"I don't want two of everything," Gray said tearfully.

"Yeah, well, it's not up to you. There's a point you have to grow up."

"Zach," Aria said again. "Shut up." She took a tissue out of her bag and handed it to Gray. "Look, Gray, my parents are divorced too." Gray wiped his eyes and looked up at her. She saw the pain in his eyes that reflected exactly how she felt when her parents sat her down and told her they were divorcing when she was about Gray's age. "I'm not going to lie, it's difficult, and it's unfair…but it's something you _can_ get through. I promise."

 _Not enough, Aria,_ she thought to herself as she saw tears still coming to Gray's eyes. _Step it up._

"I'll tell you what," she continued. "When we get back, I'll give you my number, and if you ever need someone to talk to, you can just give me a call, okay?"

Gray nodded. "Thanks, Aria."

She gave him a warm smile before flashing a hard glare towards Zach. Unfortunately, he had turned his attention back to the girls behind him. What on earth had happened to him? She didn't remember him being such a jerk, especially to Gray. The last time she saw him, they were both thirteen and Gray was seven, and she could still remember how Zach ran around the house with Gray on his back as the both of them laughed together. It was one of the cutest things she had ever seen, and it made her wish she had an older brother too. One just like Zach.

Whether it was Bethany or some of his other friends, something had hardened his heart, and it was going to be up to her and Gray to soften it again. By the looks of it, Bethany wasn't going to, especially since Aria had a feeling she was the cause of it.

Thanks to their wristbands, the three of them were able to get up to the front of the line. Aria felt a little guilty when she heard people not-so-discreetly grumbling behind her, but she got over it when she remembered why she had the special privilege in the first place.

"The soft tissue is preserved because the iron in the dinosaur's blood generates free radicals, and those are highly reactive," Gray rambled as they waited for the next available gyrosphere. "The proteins and the cell membranes get all mixed up and act as a natural preservative. DNA can survive for millennia that way. Even if the amber mines dry up, they'll still have bones—"

"Shut up," Zach interrupted.

Aria saw that Zach was staring at even more girls, and she was really getting annoyed with him at this point. So far, he had proven to be almost the exact opposite of the Zach she remembered.

Why had she even thought he was going to be the same? She had barely spoken to him since seventh grade. Did she really think that he was going to be the exact same person? She wasn't, so why would he be?

"What do you think is gonna happen from you just staring at them?" Gray asked loud enough for the girls to hear. They started giggling as they loaded into the gyrosphere. Aria put her hand to mouth to hide her smile.

"Thanks, man," Zach said angrily.

"You're welcome."

Aria smiled at Gray and fist-bumped him behind Zach's back.

"How many?" the ride operator asked as if he would rather be mauled by one of the dinosaurs than be working.

"Three," Aria told him. They waited a little bit longer before a gyrosphere with three seats pulled into the loading area. Zach and Gray got in the two seats in the front while Aria sat in the back.

Once they were free of the track, Zach took the controls and started leading them through the valley.

"Hey, there. I'm Jimmy Fallon," a voice said as the man came onto the tiny screen in the sphere. He was dressed in a lab coat with what looked like a lab behind him. "Welcome aboard the Gyrosphere, an amazing machine made possible by science. Your safety is our main concern. Which is why you're behind our invisible barrier system which protects you from things like Dilophosaurus venom." He turned around and accidently hit some bottles with his teaching stick which caused green liquid to spurt in his face. "One drop of this can paralyze you, so watch out." He looked at someone off-screen. "Is this real? It is?" He fell onto the floor, which made Aria chuckle a little. It was dry humor, but they tried. 'PLEASE STAND BY' displayed on the screen before Jimmy came back on the screen. "And for added protection, each vehicle is surrounded by aluminum oxynitride glass. So tough, it can stop a .50-caliber bullet." He shot a gun at a piece of glass, and it fell over, breaking the cabinet behind it. "The Gyroscopic technology will keep you upright at all times, so you've got nothing to worry about."

"Where are they?" Gray asked excitedly.

"Oh, man," Zach said.

He pulled ahead and they found themselves looking at all kinds of different dinosaurs. Aria was in awe. It was one thing to see them in a show or from a viewing area, but being this close to the creatures was something else entirely. She could not understand why her friends didn't want to do this attraction. It was amazing!

Suddenly, 'RIDE CLOSED' appeared on the screen over Jimmy messing something else up, with a voice saying, "Due to technical difficulties, all our exhibits are now closed. Please disembark all rides and return to the resort."

Gray sighed in disappointment, and Aria had to admit that she didn't want to go back just yet either. Not when she got the opportunity to be this close to the dinosaurs!

On the other hand, when at a park with living dinosaurs, technical difficulties probably meant something dangerous was happening.

"Come on, we can stay out a couple more minutes," Zach insisted.

"But they said it was closed," Gray said.

"Aunt Claire gave us special wristbands, right? And Aria has her own special wristband too. We're all VIP, dude."

"I wouldn't really say I'm VIP," Aria put in.

"Eh, it's close enough. Come on. It'll be fun."

He pushed the joystick forward and they propelled further into the valley as the dinosaurs took off, and it almost felt like they were racing them. No matter how much trouble they were going to get into, Aria had to say that it was worth it for that moment.

Zach pulled out his phone and put it to his ear. "Hey, Claire…I can't really hear you. Gray and our friend, Aria, and I are in the hamster ball…Hello? Hello?" He pulled the phone away from his ear and turned it off.

"Was that important?" Aria asked.

"Probably not. She was probably just mad at us for ditching her assistant."

"Well, that's kind of on her because that woman was no fun."

He moved them around the valley some more before they came upon an open gate. It looked broken and torn up, like something had crashed through. Aria's heart skipped a beat and she wanted nothing more than to get away from the place.

"What happened here?" Zach asked. He looked at his fellow passengers. "Guys. Off-road."

"But they told us to go back," Gray said.

"I agree with Gray," Aria told him. "We really should go back now. What if something's really wrong?"

"I'm just worried you're not getting the full Jurassic World experience." He put his finger over his lips and pulled forward through the gate.


	3. Indominus Attack!

"No, no. Bad idea, bad idea," Gray said urgently as they peddled through the forest.

"Great idea!" Zach smiled.

"No! We're gonna get arrested. They'll shave our heads, and we're gonna have to make root beer in the toilet."

"What are you talking about?"

"Gray, I think you've been watching a little too much TV," Aria laughed, nervously looking around her. "Pick up a book next time."

Zach pushed them forward a little more until they saw four dinosaurs eating some of the leaves and the grass.

"There," Zach said. "You see? I told you. You're welcome. Up close and personal with four…'dinosauruses'."

Aria laughed a little at Zach's pathetic inability to know what the dinosaurs were really called.

"Ankylosaurus," Gray corrected. "We shouldn't be here. And there's five dinosaurs."

"Aren't you supposed to be a genius or something? Look. One, two, three, four."

Gray pointed at a reflection on the front of the sphere. "Five."

Aria's stomach flipped significantly as the three of them slowly turned around to find a huge dinosaur rising above them that was unlike any dinosaur Aria had ever seen and was clearly a carnivore that now wanted to devour them. Then it opened its mouth wider than any dinosaur should have the ability to do and let out a huge roar.

"Go, go, go!" Gray screamed.

Zach tried to move the gyrosphere, but the dinosaur hit it with its foot, sending them all spinning across the forest floor and knocking them into several of the other dinosaurs like a pinball machine.

"Hold it together, man!" Zach cried to a screaming Gray.

Aria shut her eyes and tried to hold down what little food was inside of her. They finally stopped spinning when the dinosaur came near them again.

"Drive! Drive! Go!" Gray and Aria screamed to Zach.

Zach began moving the gyrosphere away, but one of the dinosaurs' tails rammed into it which propelled them into a tree and flipped them upside down. When Zach tried to move the joystick, nothing happened. They were stuck.

They all watched in horror as the huge dinosaur fought with the remaining Ankylosaurus. It tried to bite the shell, but quickly realized it couldn't break through the hard surface. Instead, it managed to flip the shell over before biting the Ankylosaurus's head with a loud sickening crack. Gray and Aria looked away, the sounds being enough.

"We're safe in here, right?" Gray asked.

"Yeah, they're totally safe," Zach whispered, though it didn't sound like he totally believed what he was saying.

Zach's phone, which had fallen to the ceiling of the gyrosphere, started vibrating fiercely, his Aunt Claire's face filling the screen.

"Zach!" Aria said urgently. "Get the phone, get the phone, get the phone, get the phone!"

The two of them started attempting to grab the phone before it drew the attention of the dinosaur.

"Zach. Aria," Gray whispered.

"I almost got it," Zach said.

"Zach?"

"Yeah?"

"Look."

Zach and Aria looked up to find the evil eye of the dinosaur staring into the gyrosphere, pleased with finding its next meal.

"We are so dead," Aria whispered.

The dinosaur turned the sphere around and then began moving it back to the upright position. One of its claws burst right through the supposedly unbreakable glass, making all of the passengers' hearts skip several beats. The dinosaur stared at them angrily and hungrily at the same time.

It opened its mouth and came straight for them. Aria knew then that she was looking at the very face of death. All three of them began screaming as the dinosaur's mouth tried to get them through the glass. At first, it was unsuccessful. But then its teeth clamped down into the gyrosphere and hefted the whole thing up into the air. Then it slammed it back onto the ground, breaking the glass behind them and nearly giving them all whiplash.

Aria watched as Zach began to undo his and Gray's seatbelts, and she followed suit. When the gyrosphere slammed down for the third time, the three of them managed to slip out of it. Zach covered Gray and Aria as the dinosaur slammed the jagged gyrosphere down over them.

"Go! Go!" Zach screamed. The three of them took off running as fast as they possibly could. No one knew exactly where they were headed as long as it was away from the dinosaur. They made it into a clearing, and just when they thought they were safe, the dinosaur came barreling through the trees.

Aria ran as fast as she could, though her lungs were giving her a lot of grief. They stopped running when they came to the edge of a waterfall.

"We're gonna have to jump," Zach said, seeing no other option.

"I can't," Gray panicked.

"Are you ready? One, two—Come on!"

The three of them jumped off the cliff just as the dinosaur was about to catch them. Aria plunged into the water, her lungs crying out for mercy. She forced her eyes open, feeling the horrid sting as the water came in contact with them. A hand on her foot pulled her down further into the water, and she saw Zach with a finger over his lips again. She desperately needed air, but she knew she couldn't do anything until the dinosaur was gone. Air could wait if it meant not getting eaten.

Finally, the dinosaur retreated from the waterfall and they all broke the surface, gasping for breath.

Zach pulled Aria and Gray up to the bank. Gray quietly whimpered and Zach looked over at him.

"You jumped."

The both of them began laughing and Zach pulled his brother close to him.

Their moment of victory abruptly ended when Zach heard gasping next to him, and turned to find Aria on the ground, unable to breathe properly.

"Oh, crap!" he exclaimed. He quickly leaned over her. "Aria, where's—where's your inhaler?"

"It's…in my bag," she gasped. "Back there."

"Dang it," Zach muttered. "Okay. Aria, you've been through this before, alright? Sit up." He gently helped her up off the ground and got her up into a sitting position. She was gasping heavily for breath, and he knew that he had to do something soon if he wanted her to live. "Take my hands." Aria grabbed onto Zack's hands and squeezed them so hard that they started shaking, but he didn't even notice the pain. "Focus on your breathing, okay? Close your eyes and think of yourself on the beach with the gentle ocean behind you and the warm sand beneath you. Okay? Now breathe with me."

Zach began breathing slowly for her so she could copy his technique. It took some time, but eventually Aria was able to get her breathing back to a somewhat normal pace. It would have to do until she could get some kind of medication.

When Aria opened her eyes again, she realized how close Zach was to her. Their foreheads were almost touching. In fact, they were actually close enough to…

"Good," Zach said, shaking her out of her moment. "Come on. We have to keep moving."

He helped her stand up and the three of them began making the trek to somehow get back to the park.


	4. Aria Confronts Zach

Claire's breathing picked up at the sight of the shattered gyrosphere. If anything happened to those boys…

She nervously climbed out of the Jeep and watched Owen pry a huge tooth the size of her hand out of the broken machine.

Her heart sank when she saw Zach's shattered phone. "No, no, no. No."

That was it. She was officially the worst aunt ever. She let her nephews get killed by a hybrid dinosaur. How was she ever going to explain this to her sister?

"Hey," Owen said to her. He pointed out three sets of footprints. "They made it out."

She breathed a sigh of relief. No need to plan the eulogy yet. Who was she kidding? If they died, there was no way Karen would ever let her attend the funeral.

Owen looked around a little more and found a small bag at the base of a nearby tree. "This can't be either of theirs," Owen said to Claire, taking note of the feminine quality of it.

"I—I think Zach said there was someone with them. Um…Aria."

"Well, if this is hers, then she's in trouble." Owen pulled out an inhaler, and Claire realized that Aria must have asthma. Owen tucked the inhaler into his jacket pocket in the hopes that he would find the kids alive and could get Aria her medication.

The two of them followed the tracks and found themselves by a waterfall.

"Oh, dear Lord, they jumped," Claire exclaimed.

"Brave kids," Owen remarked.

"ZACH! GRAY! ARIA!"

"Shh!" Owen quickly shushed her, looking around to see if she had drawn the attention of anything…like the Indominus.

"Hey, I am not one of your stupid animals!" Claire barked, losing her patience with the man.

"Listen, those kids are still alive, but you and I will not be if you continue to scream like that."

"So, you can pick up their scent, can't you? Track their footprints?"

"I was with the Navy, not the Navajo!"

"So then what should we do? What do you suggest we do?"

"You get back. I'll find them."

"No, we'll find them."

"You'll last two minutes in there. Less in those ridiculous shoes."

Claire gave him a pointed look before undoing her white button-up shirt, revealing the purple tank top underneath. She tied it in a knot at the bottom and then rolled up her sleeves and placed her hands on her hips.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Owen asked.

"It means I'm ready to go."

"Okay. Let's get one thing straight. I'm in charge out here. You do everything I say, exactly as I say it."

"Excuse me?"

"Just relax. It's just like taking a stroll through the woods…65 million years ago."

Claire plowed ahead of him and Owen released a puff of air through his cheeks, trying to remind himself why he ever went on a date with that woman in the first place.

* * *

As Zach, Gray, and Aria trekked through the jungle, all of them were constantly checking behind them every three seconds, fearing the dinosaur would be back for them. Aria could feel Zach's eyes on her as they walked, worried she might have another attack. It was nice that he cared about her.

She couldn't get her mind off how she felt when he was helping her during her last attack. Or the fact that she felt…elated that he had been so close to her. As much as she tried to push those thoughts away, knowing he had Bethany in his life, they kept forcing their way in.

The thing was it wasn't the first time he had helped her with an attack. She had had them a lot more frequently when they were in elementary school, and she had coached him on what to do when she had her inhaler and when she didn't. Each time, he was there to help her.

So what was so different about this time?

Gray suddenly ran ahead of them and picked up a white worker hat. When Aria got closer, she realized that the hat was caked in blood and had a massive crack in it. It was pretty safe to assume that the owner of the hat wasn't alive anymore. Zach rushed forward and took the hat away from a frightened Gray.

A little ways ahead of them, they noticed a Jurassic World Jeep that had been smashed against a tree.

"Stay here," Zach said to both of them.

"Yeah, right," Aria muttered.

She and Gray both followed Zach over to the Jeep. It was completely torn up and more blood was on it. Whatever had gone on here certainly had not been good. It had to be a result of the dinosaur that had attacked them. What other explanation was there?

Zach looked up and when Aria followed his line of sight, she saw a heavy door up ahead of them.

They all went up to it and forced it open. Inside, overgrown plants and vines were everywhere which made it hard to tell what part was inside and what part was outside.

"Wow," Zach whispered.

They looked around them at the building lost to the rest of the world. Zach picked up an old bone, and then his foot went across a piece of a banner.

"This must've been part of Jurassic Park," Aria put together when she saw the sign. "This is insane. I mean, we're actually standing in one of the original buildings."

Zach picked up the part of the banner and looked at Gray. "You still have those matches?"

Gray opened his pouch and pulled out a matchbox. "Here you go."

"I will never be mad at anyone for being overprepared ever again," Aria told him.

Zach lit up his makeshift torch, and they traversed deeper into the abandoned building. They ended up coming across an old picture of raptors painted onto the wall. Gray and Aria stared at the picture, wondering what it was like for the group of people who had been brought in to experience the park before it opened.

Aria hadn't been born at the time, but she had learned of the story of the unfortunate people who had suffered an awful fate at the original unopened Jurassic Park. There was a group of paleontologists and two children who were sent to test out the park. Long story short, it hadn't gone well for anyone, staff included. It seemed that history was about to repeat itself.

"Gray! Aria!" Zach called, breaking Aria out of her thoughts.

The two of them followed Zach and they all ended up in a garage with various worn Jurassic Park tools and a couple of old Jurassic Park Jeeps.

"1992 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, Sand Beige," Gray commented.

"You really know your stuff," Aria told him.

Zach looked over at his brother. "You remember when we fixed up Grandpa's old Malibu, right?"

"Yeah," Gray answered.

"You can't be serious," Aria scoffed. "You guys can get one of these started?"

"It's our best bet right now," Zach said.

Zach and Gray started working on the truck by finding what they needed around the garage.

"Zach," Aria called. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure."

Zach and Aria left the garage so they could get out of Gray's earshot. Once they were alone, Aria slapped Zach hard on the face.

"You are an idiot!" she yelled. "If you had just gone back like they told us to, none of us would be here right now!" When Zach started to say something, she held up her index finger. "No, let me finish! That being said, if a freaking dinosaur attack is what it takes to mend the awful relationship with your brother…then so be it because it's not like I can change it now."

"What are you talking about?" Zach said, finally getting a word in. "Gray and I don't have an awful relationship!"

"Um, did you not hear anything you said to him on the monorail? He was worried sick about his parents divorcing and you just made it ten times worse!"

"I did not!"

"Zach, couldn't you see how worried he was about losing you?"

Zach opened his mouth to answer her, but closed it again when he couldn't think of anything to say.

"His first question was about the possibility of you two being separated. And to put salt in the wound, you yelled at him for crying and told him that you would be gone in two years anyway!"

"I just…"

"I had to jump in and say something to comfort him before he completely lost it! Zach, don't you remember my parents going through their divorce?"

 _All too well_ , Zach thought. Aria's parents getting divorced was his first introduction to the whole act. He couldn't understand why parents would want to separate from each other. Who knew that he would be in the same situation just a few years later?

"I was about Gray's age," Aria continued. "And I spent almost all of my time at your house to get away from that. It's not an easy thing, and I didn't have any siblings to help me get through it. Gray needs you now more than ever."

Aria started to walk away from a speechless Zach. Then she turned back to him, her face much softer.

"Oh, and by the way, thanks…for helping me back there. You've still got it."

The two of them then headed back to the garage to continue fixing up the Jeep.

"What did you guys talk about?" Gray asked Aria.

She smiled at him. "Just teenage stuff."

The two boys began fixing up the Jeep as Aria watched, helping whenever she could. Occasionally, something would crunch, and all three heads would snap in the direction of the forest, hearts pounding. No one wanted a repeat of their dinosaur attack.

"You think it's out there?" Zach asked. After seeing Gray's terrified look, he added, "I mean, I know for a fact it is definitely not out there, all right? We're totally safe." He handed his little brother a car battery. "Here, take this. You're stronger than me."

Aria smiled. There was the Zach she remembered. She knew he had been in there somewhere. It just took a little (if a dinosaur attack could be considered 'little') coaxing to get him out.

Eventually, the humidity and the exertion from fixing up the Jeep forced Zach to take off his sweatshirt. Aria tried not to stare at his defined muscles. Had they always been there? When had Zach started looking so…

"All right," Zach said, shaking Aria out of her private moment. He looked at Gray who was in the driver's seat. "Turn it over."

Gray turned the key and to everyone's amazement and equal relief, the Jeep started up.

"It works!" Gray cheered.

Zach and Aria laughed together as Zach flipped the hood of the Jeep down, and hopped into the driver's seat while Aria got into the back.

"I thought you failed your driver's test," Gray said.

"No, only the driving part," Zach replied.

"Wait a minute, what?" Aria exclaimed. "You failed the driving portion? I'm gonna die. I survived a dinosaur and an asthma attack, and now I'm gonna die."

"Always the overdramatic one, aren't you?" Zach teased.

"Just get us back to the park without killing us."

With that, they pulled out of the garage and prayed they didn't run into any unfriendly creatures.


	5. Pterosaur Swarm

They approached a closed gate with a worn-down sign, warning people that the gate had 10,000 volts charging through it. It was safe to say that was not the case anymore since the gate was covered in vines. Zach forced the Jeep through the doors on the gate, and both boys started laughing when it actually worked.

"Okay, that's it," Zach assured. "We're safe now."

Gray looked behind them and Aria followed his line of sight. Many pterosaurs were flying above the trees, heading straight for the park.

"Not yet, we're not," she said quietly.

"Go, go, go!" Gray screamed.

Zach gunned the Jeep, making Aria lurch in the backseat. Finally, they were out of the forest and approaching one of the gates that led into Jurassic World.

"Open the gate!" the three of them yelled to the operators. "Let us in!"

The gates were opened for them and they all quickly climbed out of the Jeep.

"You are all in so much trouble!" a British voice cried out. Aria looked over to find the assistant who had been tasked with guarding the boys. "Come on, we've got to find Claire!"

All four of them raced down to Main Street and were met with the sight of hundreds of pterosaurs attacking the thousands of people in attendance at the park.

"Don't just stand there!" Zara screamed. To their shock, she was suddenly picked up by a pterosaur and carried high up into the air as they all watched with open mouths. The pterosaur dropped her, but before she could hit the ground, another one grabbed her only to drop her again. She fell a long way before plunging into the giant pool.

 _Well, at least she landed in water_ , Aria thought. _Wait…_

Several pterosaurs flew into the water and went after her. One of them grabbed her in its mouth, plunging her in and out of the water. Then the Mosasaurus leapt out of the water and guzzled Zara and the pterosaur before plunging back in.

The three of them stood by the pool, trying to process what had just happened.

"Go! Get inside now!" Zach yelled, forcing Gray and Aria to leave the pool.

They all started running through buildings and streets in an attempt to find Claire. Suddenly, Aria felt a sharp pain on both of her shoulders and her feet were no longer touching the ground!

"ZACH!"

She began screaming, hoping to not suffer a fate like Zara's. The two boys spun around to find Aria squirming in a pterosaur's grasp.

"ARIA!" Zach yelled.

The pterosaur dropped her on the ground and began sinking its talons painfully into her back as she continued to scream.

Zach took a chair that had landed near him in all the chaos and whacked the pterosaur with it over and over again until it had released Aria. Then he grabbed her hand and quickly hoisted her back up. She could feel his arm clamped firmly around her waist protectively as her arm went around his neck. For a second, she just let herself indulge in the feeling of being in someone's protective embrace.

Aria's lungs were beginning to really hurt again, but she tried her best to press on. She had to unless she wanted to get killed. Hopefully, she could find some kind of medication somewhere to help her breathe easier.

The three of them began running again, still trying to find Claire.

At the sound of loud screeching, they turned to find an absolutely huge pterosaur approaching them. Zach dove to the ground, taking Aria and Gray with him. The pterosaur fell to the ground after being hit with several bullets from the staff and started sliding towards them. Zach backed them up and placed a protective arm across Gray's chest. The beak stopped within just a few inches of hitting them. They once again took off before Zach slowed and looked ahead of them at a woman with red hair and a dirty white shirt and skirt on. She was firing a gun at a freakish looking pterosaur that was aggressively trying to chew a man's face off.

"Is that Aunt Claire?" Zach asked.

"That's your Aunt Claire?" Aria said appalled. "She's definitely a lot different from how I pictured."

Claire helped the man up off the ground, and he firmly kissed her on the lips. Aria placed her hand over Gray's eyes.

The woman looked over at them and relief flooded her face. "Zach! Gray!" she screamed as she ran over to them, taking Gray's head in her hands. "Thank God! What happened? What is this? Are you okay? Where did you go? Why didn't you come back? I was so worried about you!"

"Who's that?" Zach asked, referring to the man she had just been kissing.

Claire awkwardly straightened her posture. "We work together."

"He's hot," Aria said out of earshot of him. "Well done."

Claire let out an awkward laugh. "You must be Aria."

"Hey," Owen said. "We gotta go."

"Okay. Come on. Come on, come on."

Claire ushered them all back to where most guests weren't allowed. Claire's cell phone rang and she quickly answered it.

"Lowery, I'm on my way back to you," she said into the receiver. After a pause, she asked, "What do you mean 'use the Raptors'?"

At that, Owen's face contorted to one of intense anger. They watched several helicopters fly above them.

"Take the kids," Owen ordered. "Get them someplace safe."

Claire didn't have time to do anything before the huge door that kept people out was forced open and a mob of people flooded into the small passageway, all of them trying to escape the attacking pterosaurs.

The group ran towards an abandoned Jurassic World Jeep and climbed in before they all got trampled. Owen sat in the driver's seat while Zach, Aria, and Gray got in the back with Aria in the middle.

"You got this! You got this!" Zach yelled. "Drive!"

Owen floored the gas and put the Jeep into reverse. Then he backed the Jeep up until he managed to get it into a small nook where it was out of the way of the throng of panicked people.

"This does not feel safe," Zach remarked.

"Can we stay with you?" Gray asked.

Claire sighed with relief. "I am never leaving you as long as you live."

"No, no, no, him," Gray said, putting his hand on Owen's shoulder. "Yeah, definitely him."

Aria began gasping again as her lungs constricted tightly. Surviving one asthma attack without her inhaler was a miracle. How was she ever going to get through two?

"Here!" Owen said, pulling Aria's inhaler out of his jacket pocket. "She'll need this."

Zach grabbed the inhaler and handed it to Aria. As he grabbed her hand, she took a few puffs of the medication and felt her breathing slowly begin to go back to normal. It didn't take her long to realize that Zach's hand was still holding onto hers.


	6. Meeting the Raptors

Owen drove the Jeep to a place where he did all his work to confront whoever had made Owen angry when Claire had been on the phone. He stopped the car, and both he and Claire exited looking more than ticked off. They approached a man with salt-and-pepper hair and a smug smile on his equally colored bearded face.

Without a single word, Owen punched him hard in the jaw which caused all the passengers still in the car to start laughing.

Aria couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened since she met up with Zach earlier that day. She remembered learning about Bethany, and then envisioning the perfect boyfriend for her. She thought about how Zach had helped her with both of her asthma attacks, gripping her hands and calming her down. He knew exactly what to do to help her. And she couldn't get over the fact that she was starting to feel…well, like she wanted to be more than friends. The problem was that he already had Bethany. She was not about to make a move while he was dating someone else.

But how was she supposed to ignore that for a good portion of the day, he had basically been the very person she had envisioned?

They watched the heated conversation between Owen and Claire and the smug man. Aria didn't like him at first sight. It would probably stay that way. He looked arrogant and cruel.

"Hey, Zach?" Aria said. "Thanks for your help. Again."

"At least you had your inhaler this time. Owen must've found it when they were looking for us."

"Your aunt's pretty sweet by the way."

"Funny how dinosaurs on the loose can do that to a person." There was a pause before he said, "Hey…I'm sorry about everything. It was my fault we almost got eaten and you had an attack."

"It's alright. Like I said before, it's not like there's much we can do about it now."

Aria nervously bit her lip as she met Zach's eyes. She didn't remember them being so…gorgeous. Ugh, why had he had to get so…different all of a sudden? Things were simpler between them when both of them looked like middle-school dorks, and there was absolutely no attraction between them!

Zach had done nothing for nearly the whole trip but realize how beautiful Aria had become since he had seen her last. Sure she still had asthma attacks, but considering what she had gone through over the course of the day, it was completely understandable. He remembered being terrified when she was caught without her inhaler. It wasn't the first time that had happened, but it didn't mean that it couldn't be fatal. All he could keep thinking was that if she died, it would be his fault because he hadn't returned the gyrosphere when they told him to. When he held her hands in an attempt to help her get over her attack like he had done before when they were kids, he felt something click inside of him. Something he had never felt the entire time he had known Bethany. It was at that moment that he realized that Aria was more to him than just a friend.

In fact, he had the full intention of setting the record straight with Bethany once he could get in contact with her again, and let her know that he wasn't pleased with how controlling she was and that they had never really talked about being boyfriend and girlfriend. To him, they were not a real couple.

 _Will you guys just kiss already?_ Gray thought. He chose not to say that out loud even though the chemistry between them was overwhelming.

The three of them got out of the Jeep and went over to where Owen was with some raptors.

"Owen," Gray said. "Are they safe?"

"No, they're not," Owen answered.

"What are their names?" Zach asked.

Owen turned and pointed out the four raptors. "Well, you got Charlie. There's Echo. Here is Delta. This one's called Blue. She's the beta."

"Who's the alpha?" Gray asked.

"You're looking at him, kid."

The three of them smiled in awe. They knew someone who could actually control the raptors.

"Could I…touch them?" Aria asked.

"Aria, are you sure that's a good idea?" Zach said quietly.

"Shut up," she answered without looking at him.

"If you do it quickly," Owen told her. He led her to the raptors, specifically Blue. Then he took her hand and gently placed it on Blue's head. "Easy, Blue," he said softly. "There's nothing to worry about. She's a friend."

Aria smiled a bit, relishing the feeling of touching an actual raptor without it biting her head off. "Wow," she breathed. "It's so cool you get to work with them all the time." Blue's eye looked straight through her and Aria wondered just what was going through her brain. Probably hunger and a lot of frustration. But in that moment, she couldn't look away from the unblinking piercing glare.

"Guys!" Claire called. "Come over here!"

The boys started heading over to their aunt.

"Thanks for letting me in," Aria said. "And, uh, thanks for finding my inhaler."

"Sure thing," Owen said with a light smile. "Be on the lookout. This thing isn't over yet."

Aria nodded and went over to where Claire and the boys were. Claire opened the back of a huge Jurassic World truck.

"See? Totally safe," she said, peering inside. "All right, get in. Come on. Get in there."

Zach, Aria, and Gray all hopped into the truck. There were only two seats, so Zach and Gray took both of those while Aria just sat on the floor near them.

"If you need me, I'll be right up front. Just open that window." She pointed to a closed window behind Zach and Gray. "Okay? Put your seatbelts on."

Zach and Gray looked for seatbelts but came up empty while Aria kind of just looked at Claire since she didn't have a seat, much less a seatbelt.

"Okay, so just…hold hands."

Gray held out his hand for Zach to take, which made Aria smile.

Aria felt kinda bad for Claire. She must've been having a really tough day. She had almost lost her nephews, and judging from her appearance, her time in the jungle had not been a walk in the park, not to mention that after all this was over, she was basically going to be out of a job.

Suddenly, the distant sound of a dinosaur screeching abruptly brought everyone out of their thoughts.

"Nothing's getting in here, right?" Gray said, his voice slightly trembling.

Zach looked at his terrified brother before gently saying, "Hey. Do you remember that ghost at the old house? Remember the one in the garage? I protected you, right?"

"You made a battle axe out of a ruler and a paper plate."

Aria smiled. While that must've happened after she and Zach lost contact, she could only imagine a younger Zach running into the garage to confront a ghost with a cheap paper "axe". Underneath it all, Zach really cared for Gray even though it sometimes didn't always seem like it.

"Yeah," Zach continued. "See, nothing is gonna get you while I'm around, okay?"

"But you're not always gonna be around."

"Yeah, well…" Zach's heart panged a little as he recalled his words to Gray back on the monorail about leaving in a couple years. He would do anything to take those words back so that Gray could understand that he cared for his brother, even though he had a tendency to say stupid things to him. "Hey. We're brothers, okay? We'll always be brothers and we'll always come back to one another. No matter what."

"No matter what?"

"No matter what."

Zach placed his head on Gray's as he hugged him close to him.

 _I wish I had a video camera right now!_ Aria thought. Her insides were all warm and fuzzy at seeing how Zach was treating Gray. It was exactly how she remembered him: always willing to keep Gray safe and happy. She was a sucker for a guy who was good with kids. Once again, Zach was proving himself to be her dream guy.


	7. Raptor Fight

Zach opened the window behind him so he, Gray, and Aria could see Claire. She had removed her white jacket, leaving only her purple tank top on. She was watching a tablet where four cameras were showing either the raptors' point of view or the soldiers on the mission.

"Your boyfriend's awesome," Zach remarked as they watched Owen ride his motorcycle with the raptors running alongside him.

They watched as the cameras slowed and stopped. Aria's heart skipped a beat, knowing what was going to appear on the cameras.

But before the dinosaur appeared, Claire said, "You know what? No, no, no. You guys are not gonna watch this. Keep the window closed."

She closed the window, despite all of their protests. Aria was kind of grateful nonetheless because she didn't really want to see the dinosaur again, not even on a screen. It would just bring back awful memories of what happened only a few hours ago.

"I would love for all of this to be over now," Aria said. "I don't know how much more I can take."

Zach looked at her sympathetically. If he was in her position, he didn't know if he could take anymore either. Once again, he silently berated himself for nearly getting them all killed.

He slowly opened the window again to peek in on the cameras. Aria watched with horror as the raptors went after everyone who had gone to hunt the dinosaur. Weren't they following orders just a few minutes ago? What happened?

"Is everybody dead?" Gray asked softly.

Claire gasped lightly in surprise and put away the tablet. "No, no, no. Everyone is fine."

"Don't lie to him!" Zach yelled.

"He's scared! It's okay to lie when people are scared!"

"I wanna go home," Gray told her.

Claire put her hand on his head. "Sweetheart, you will, okay? I promise. Tomorrow you will be home…and your mother will never let me see you again."

Suddenly, a bloody hand slammed on Claire's window which caused her and Aria to scream.

"Get out of here! Go!" the man below screamed as Zach slammed the window shut. The truck started up and the three of them in the back attempted to not fly around amongst all the heavy equipment. The back doors flung open as the man tried to climb in.

"They're coming!" he screamed. One of the raptors ran to the man and jumped on him, flinging him out of the truck before devouring him as Gray and Aria watched in disgust.

"Just hold on back there!" Claire screamed from the front.

"To what?!" Aria screamed back.

For some reason, Claire started screaming some more, but Aria didn't have time to figure out why. Two more raptors were running straight for the truck.

Zach stood up in the moving truck and took one of the large cans leaning against the side. Then he flung it out of the truck making impact with one of the raptors.

The truck suddenly swerved causing Aria to knock her head on something. Gray grabbed the something, which turned out to be a cattle prod. Zach and Gray started fumbling with it, trying to figure out how it worked.

"Turn it on!" Gray cried.

"I don't know how!" Zach said.

The raptor jumped onto the truck as Aria screamed. The boys managed to turn on the cattle prod, and together, they jabbed it into the raptor. It fell off the truck and hit the dirt road, motionless.

"Are you guys okay?" Claire shouted.

"Hey, did you see that?" Zach laughed.

"I can't wait to tell Mom!" Gray said.

"Please, no," Claire begged. "Do not tell your mother about that, ever."

There was suddenly the sound of a motorcycle revving behind them, and they all saw that Owen was following the truck.

"Owen!" all of them cried with delight.

Owen drove up next to Claire's window. "We gotta get indoors! Follow me!"

"Lowery, we're headed your way," Aria heard Claire say over the phone. "Call in a chopper."

Aria looked out the truck doors to see if the raptors were following them still. Suddenly, the truck hit a rough bump and Aria felt herself tumble towards the doors with a scream.

Before she could do anything, she felt herself yanked back. She roughly hit the floor of the moving truck, and looked beside her to see Zach. Her cheeks began to get warm at the fact that he had just saved her…and now they were really close together with her head resting on his outstretched arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I've been better," she gasped. "I guess that was kind of stupid."

"Only a lot."

Zach got up and then helped Aria up. Not long after, the truck came to a complete stop. Zach got out first, then helped Gray and Aria out.

"Come on, come on," Claire ushered. "Go inside."

They all followed Owen inside the Innovation Center on Main Street. It was strange to see the whole park so deserted.

"Control room. That way!" Claire pointed as they ran through the doors. When they got there, the whole place was empty, including all the equipment. "They evacuated the lab."

The five of them entered through what looked to Aria like a secret room judging from the keypad next to the door. Inside, several mutated creatures sat in glass cages while various embryos were sprinkled around the room. Aria's brow furrowed as she looked at a computer with a picture of the dinosaur that had attacked them. The Indominus Rex.

Their heads turned as they saw official looking people packing up the remaining embryos and equipment.

"What are you doing?" Claire asked.

"I'm afraid that's above your pay grade, honey." The man Owen had punched before, the one who's plan was to use the raptors to hunt the dinosaur (which was an epic fail if Aria had anything to say about it), stepped into the room.

"Where's Henry?"

"Dr. Wu works for us."

"That's not a real dinosaur," Gray said, looking at the computer.

"No, it ain't, kid."

So the dinosaur that attacked them was actually not a real one? It was created from different species? Clearly, that had been a stupid idea. She almost died because of that!

"But somebody's gotta make sure that this company has a future. Imagine…that one, a fraction of the size…deadly, intelligent, able to hide from the most advanced military technology. A living weapon unlike anything we've ever seen."

This guys was nuts.

"You see, millions of years of evolution…what did we learn? Nature is the gift that just—"

His overdramatic speech was cut off by one the raptors leaping into the room. Owen quickly pushed everyone back, shielding them with his body. Zach put his arm tightly around Aria's waist.

"Easy! Easy, boy!" the man said quickly as the raptor headed right for him.

Weren't all the dinosaurs in the park girls? Aria knew that and she didn't even work here. So not only was the guy nuts, but he couldn't remember genders.

"Easy! Hey, hey. We're—we're on the same side, right? Right?" He gently held his hand out, trying to copy Owen's technique. "Easy. Easy. I'm on your side."

The raptor looked at his outstretched hand and quickly sank her teeth into his arm, much to Aria's horror. Owen ushered them all out of the room with the man's screams ringing out behind them as the raptor devoured him.

Zach's hand clutched Aria's as they made it out to the main hallway.

"No, guys, this way!" Claire said, leading them in one direction. However, the raptor crashed through the glass which forced them all to turn around and run the other way.

They ran back the way they had come towards the main doors of the Innovation Center. Gray pulled up a hologram of a Dilophosaurus as they ran past the console. It was just enough to distract the raptor and give them time to get out. As they ran down the steps, they all froze as another raptor stood in front of them. The one chasing them came through the doors behind them, and yet another came up beside them.

Zach pulled Aria closer to him as they all waited to be mauled. Well, if she was going to die now, at least it would be in the arms of someone she had feelings for. Bethany would love that.


	8. Final Showdown

"That's how it is, huh?" Owen said to the raptors. He set down his rifle as much as Aria wanted to protest and walked towards the raptor in front of him. "Easy. Easy," he said gently. He put his arm out, and Aria half-expected for the raptor to chomp it off like the other had just minutes before. But to her surprise, the raptor allowed Owen to remove the headset that had been placed on her. "That's it."

Aria's heart skipped a beat as the raptor moved her head and looked straight at her. That must've been Blue. Aria met eyes with her and for some strange reason, she didn't feel all that scared.

That is…until the Indominus roared loudly and appeared at the end of Main Street. Aria began breathing shallowly and she felt Zach's hand around her tighten even more.

The Indominus approached them and began speaking what sounded like raptor talk. Blue looked at the Indominus and then back at Owen and Aria. Looked like Blue knew who she wanted to follow. Blue turned back around and screeched at the Indominus. The Indominus roared in anger at the change of allegiance and flung the raptor into a pillar where she lay motionless.

Aria's hand went to her mouth in surprise, sad that Blue was most likely dead.

The other two raptors screeched at the Indominus in anger for killing their beta. Owen, realizing that they were still faithful to him, looked from one to the other and then let out a whistle. On command, the two remaining raptors ran to the Indominus and leapt on her, scratching her back with their claws.

Meanwhile, Claire, Aria, Zach, and Gray all ran to the safety of a souvenir stand while Owen shot at the Indominus in an attempt to kill her.

"24…50," Gray whispered. "We need more."

"More what?" Claire asked in confusion.

"Teeth. We need more teeth."

A look of realization crossed her face. She stood up and grabbed a flare from the First-Aid box and a walkie-talkie off the wall. Then she turned back to the three of them.

"Okay, so, you just wait here. It's gonna be fine."

They all nodded, but no one really knew if it was going to be fine at all. Claire gave them one last hopeful look before hopping over the counter and sprinting to wherever it was she had in mind.

That woman could run really fast in high heels.

Aria looked at her hands and realized she was shaking. Whether it was from fear, exhaustion, or the fact that she hadn't had anything to eat in a really long time, she didn't know. Probably all three.

Over the counter, Aria saw one of the raptors get thrown onto an oven and burn up in a matter of seconds. As for the other raptor, she was willing to bet that the Indominus had killed her as well.

Owen suddenly hopped over the counter with his finger over his lips. Aria put her hand over her mouth as the Indominus's sharp teeth came into view.

Her head knocked into the stand and her arm shot through the wall. All three of the younger ones began screaming as Owen tried desperately to keep them away from the Indominus. He flung them to the opposite wall as far from the claw as they could go.

The claw began reaching for them as Aria clung onto Zach. Several times it came for them, threatening to take them away, but each time they managed to avoid the sharp claws. However on the last time, one of the claws managed to hook onto Gray's pouch around his waist. He began sliding towards the Indominus, but the other three held onto him as tightly as they could. Tears slid down Gray's cheeks, terrified for his life. Zach found the lock and unhooked Gray from the Indominus's hold.

Aria could feel her asthma flaring up again, but she tried to force it back as best she could, knowing this was the absolute worst time to have yet another attack.

Before the Indominus could try again, a T-Rex smashed through some dinosaur bones and roared at the Indominus. The four of them stood up and watched as the T-Rex and Indominus went at each other, biting and scratching each other's neck as each tried to gain the upper hand.

"Oh. More teeth," Aria mumbled.

The Indominus grabbed the T-Rex on the throat and smashed her into the souvenir stand. Owen wrapped himself protectively around them while Zach wrapped himself protectively around Aria.

"RUN!" Claire screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Go!" Owen cried, pushing them out of the hole made by the T-Rex's head. "Go, go!"

They all ran out of the souvenir stand right as it got smashed by the two fighting dinosaurs. They ran over to Claire who was hiding behind some rocks that had been put there for show. It was pretty much the only thing on Main Street still intact.

Both dinosaurs were covered in scratches and bite marks that were dripping blood. The T-Rex fell to the ground and the Indominus leaned over her.

This was it. Nothing could beat the Indominus Rex, and they were all going to die.

Just as the Indominus opened its mouth to finish off the T-Rex, the sound of a raptor's call was heard. Aria looked over to find Blue running towards the Indominus. She was alive!

Blue hopped onto the Indominus's back in such a way that she couldn't shake her off. Then the T-Rex got back up and plunged her teeth into the Indominus's neck.

The five people turned around and ran through the nearby gift shop. Blue was flung into the window right in front of them, but she took no notice of them and went back to her fight. They kept running until they made it to the entrance to the gift shop.

Aria watched as Main Street got absolutely destroyed by the dinosaur fight. Buildings were demolished and blood was everywhere. Aria was certain that not all of it was dinosaur blood.

The raptor and the T-Rex continued to unleash everything they could on the Indominus. Finally the T-Rex threw the Indominus towards the pool, knocking part of the railing loose. The Indominus stood back up and roared at her two enemies. But before anything else could happen, the Mosasaurus leapt out of the pool and sank its teeth into the Indominus's neck. The Mosasaurus took the Indominus back into the water with her, killing her for good.

The others watched in shock, Claire holding onto Gray, and Zach holding onto Aria.

The T-Rex looked at Blue for a second, as if thanking her for her help in defeating the Indominus. Then the T-Rex turned around and walked away.

Owen took a couple of small steps forward towards Blue. Blue looked at him, and Owen gently shook his head.

Blue then met Aria's eyes again. She had the same piercing glare that she had had when Aria had rested her hand on her head. Blue must've made a positive connection at that time because it felt like she trusted her just as much as she trusted Owen.

Did that make any sense? Not really. But neither had the rest of this entire day.

Blue turned around and ran off into the distance. The others walked to the middle of the destroyed Main Street.

Aria couldn't hold it back anymore. She collapsed onto the ground in labored breaths. And the worst part? She had lost her inhaler somewhere in all of the commotion and fighting for her life. Did she really survive all of that just to be killed by her asthma?

"Aria!" Zach screamed. The rest of the group ran to her and knelt beside her.

Owen put his ear next to her mouth and could not feel any air. "She's not breathing," he stated.


	9. Made It

Zach held onto her hand as Owen began administering CPR, trying desperately to get Aria to start breathing again. After the third round, Aria coughed a little and her chest began rising up and down once more.

Owen slid one arm under her legs and another around her waist and hefted her up into his arms. Then they all rushed to the medical building where all the guests were either waiting to be picked up or were being treated for wounds caused by earlier dinosaur attacks.

"We need help!" Owen called, bursting inside with Aria in his arms.

One of the doctors ran over to him. "What happened?" he asked.

"She had an asthma attack and we can't find her inhaler."

Owen placed Aria down on a stretcher and the doctor immediately put an oxygen mask over her face. After breathing through that for a couple minutes, the doctor gave her a nebulizer treatment to keep the asthma at bay. It worked well enough and Aria was able to breathe normally by the time the treatment was finished.

Zach came over to her as she turned off the nebulizer. "I'm so sorry," he said to her.

"You can't help the fact that I have asthma," she said with a small awkward smile.

"No, but I could've prevented at least one of those attacks."

"You've already apologized, Zach. I told you there's nothing we can do about it now. Besides…we made it."

Zach laughed. "Yeah. I guess we did."

Aria suddenly felt like she was going to pass out. All of the exhaustion from the past day fell on top of her at once and she wanted nothing more than to sleep.

She lied down on the stretcher and felt Zach's hand intertwine with her own. "Don't worry," she heard him say. "Nothing can get you anymore. We're safe."

In just a few seconds, she succumbed to sleep.

* * *

Aria had to be moved in the middle of the night seeing as someone else was in need of the stretcher, so Zach carefully picked her up and moved her over to the others. Gray was asleep on Claire's lap while Owen was sitting near them.

Zach laid Aria back down on the cot Claire and Gray were on and positioned her so that her head was on his own lap. He saw no point in lying down. He knew he would never be able to get any sleep for the remainder of the night. Not after everything that had happened.

As Zach looked at Aria, he couldn't help but notice that she was still so beautiful despite everything she had gone through. He slowly ran his fingers through her tangled deep brown hair, an act that sent goosebumps up his arms. She stirred for a second, but did not awake.

He knew that there was no way he could live without her any longer. They had lost contact once, and he was not going to let it happen again. He wanted to be with her. No, he _needed_ to be with her.

He was sure that Bethany wouldn't take the whole news well. After all, what girl would? But he could not deny what he felt for Aria.

Zach felt like an idiot. The brother he loved more than life itself had been with him for ten years. The girl of his dreams had been right in front of him for several years. And yet it took a freaking dinosaur attack for him to realize how important they both were to him. How could he have been so stupid and arrogant?

He knew what he had to say to her, but it would have to wait until morning.

* * *

When Aria awoke, she quickly blushed when she realized that she had been sleeping on Zach.

She didn't have time to say anything before she heard her name being called. When she turned around, she saw both of her parents nervously looking for her.

Tears formed in her eyes and she ran straight for them, practically leaping into their arms. The three of them hugged for a really long time, all of them crying.

Aria turned around and found Zach and Gray hugging their own parents. Perhaps they weren't going to divorce now, or at least it would be put on hold.

Aria left the safety of her parents' arms and headed towards Zach. They met halfway.

"So now what?" Aria said. "Back to no communication and a chance meeting in about three years?"

"Yeah, about that…" Zach started. He had worked all night rehearsing what he wanted to say to her, but now he felt like there were no words to really express how he felt. "Look, Aria…I really like you. And it took being attacked by a hybrid dinosaur for me to realize that…I don't want to lose you. Ever."

He slowly walked towards her and kissed her. He felt so much more spark and passion than he had expected to feel. Truth be told, he had never kissed Bethany before, and he was glad of it because he got to save that kiss for Aria.

Aria couldn't have been more elated that Zach felt the same way she did. But she couldn't help but pull away from him.

"Zach…I want to be with you, believe me. But I can't do anything while you're with Bethany."

"Forget about Bethany. We're not even a real couple. At least, not to me we're not. She's too controlling and she doesn't think about what others want. But you're not like that. That's why I like you so much."

"I believe you. I do. But if you do this to me while you're dating Bethany, how do I know you won't do this to another girl if you date me?" Zach started to say something, but she stopped him. "And let's face it. Our adrenaline is pumping like fierce, and maybe we only feel this way because of everything that's just happened. I mean, we're only sixteen. We don't know what real love is like."

"But Aria…"

"All I'm saying is that I want to give this a little more time. No dinosaurs chasing us, no adrenaline, and no Bethany."

As much as Zach hated it, he knew that Aria made some really good points. It wasn't fair to Bethany for him to kiss and express desire to get into a relationship with Aria while he was dating her. And perhaps she was right, and they only liked each other simply because they had nearly died several times in the past 24 hours.

"Keep in touch with me," Aria said with another small smile. "And we'll see what happens."

Aria hugged him for a bit longer than she should've considering everything that had just occurred between them, but neither of them cared in the slightest.

As Zach watched her leave, he felt his heart tear a little, not knowing when he would get to see her again.


	10. Zach and Aria

_3 months later_

For three months, Zach and Aria had been in constant communication ever since the events of Jurassic World. All three of them, Zach, Gray, and Aria, began suffering from horrendous nightmares for weeks after they all made it back home. As a result, Aria was constantly over at their house or, once Zach finally passed his driving test, they would come over to where she was, either at her Mom's or Dad's depending on what week it was. Calls would be made to the others' house at 3:00 in the morning after waking up from another nightmare about a dinosaur or in Aria's case, waking up and having an asthma attack from the panic she felt during the dream. At first, it was only a crying and terrified Gray calling Aria, but soon enough, Zach and Gray called Aria together, or she called their house and talked to the both of them.

At their parents' prodding, they all went to see separate counselors to talk about their ordeal. It helped greatly, and with time, the nightmares began to decrease.

Unfortunately, Zach and Gray's parents put off the divorce only for a little while before they went right back to it. It seemed not even a dinosaur attack that almost caused the loss of their two sons was enough to get them to stay together. Perhaps if they had actually been there, it would've been a different story.

Aria helped Gray through the process, knowing exactly what he was going through. She helped Zach too, but in a much more indirect way.

The three of them were able to spend a few weekends with Claire and Owen which was a much needed break for everyone. Claire had since become the model aunt, and her and Owen's relationship was constantly progressing. They always insisted that Zach, Gray, and Aria were more than welcome to come stay with them whenever they wanted, and the three of them certainly took them up on that offer. Their stays with the couple were something that everyone looked forward to. The first visit had taken some convincing on everyone's part, seeing as all of their parents weren't too keen on letting their kids stay with the people who had indirectly caused the whole dinosaur outbreak in the first place. But eventually, they relented and each visit was better than the one before it.

Zach broke up with Bethany only a few days after he got back. Needless to say, she was furious with him. She ranted that she had called him a hundred times ever since she found out what was happening at the park, and how she had come all the way to his house to make sure he was okay only for him to dump her, and that she knew that that girl she had seen over video chat was more than just a friend, and how Zach was selfish and rude and didn't care about her feelings.

Zach had let her yell to her heart's content, and then proceeded to point out to her that they were never really official to begin with, nor had they ever had a real date or even kissed once. He then pointed out that she had the tendency to be controlling a lot, which was the last thing he got out before she stormed away.

To be honest, it was kind of a relief to be free of her. He knew that he couldn't just pick up the phone and ask Aria out…as much as he wanted to. He had promised himself that he would give her time so they could both work out how they felt about each other.

As he predicted, the wait was torturous. Every time she came over or he and Gray went over to her place, he felt his stomach lurch all over again and he wanted nothing more than to just kiss her. It was even worse when they all went over to visit Claire and Owen. As much as he loved being able to get away from all of the yelling at his house and coming home to see more and more boxes packed up, he saw his aunt and her boyfriend together and it made him long to have the same kind of relationship with Aria. Owen had on more than one occasion given Zach advice on how to deal with his feelings for her.

The whole thing also tortured Gray. It was completely obvious that the two teenagers were head-over-heels in love with each other and he was just waiting for one of them to come out and say it. If no one did something soon, he was about to take care of it himself before he went crazy.

Gray really liked Aria a lot and he looked up to her. She was so much better than Bethany in almost every way possible. He had never seen Zach so protective of anyone before, himself excluded. They were perfect for each other.

Aria headed over to Zach's house one evening after feeling that she had been apart from him long enough. (It had been a day and a half.)

"Hey!" Zach said with a smile as he opened the door.

"Hey, Mitchell!" Aria greeted as she hugged him. "Where's Gray?"

"Out with friends."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's been hanging out with a couple of guys lately."

"That's really good news. I know he's always had a hard time making friends. What about your mom and your dad?"

"I think they're meeting with lawyers or something."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

There was a bit of awkward silence before Zach said, "Aria? Look, it's been three months, and I don't think I can put it off anymore. I still like you and I have every day since we left Jurassic World. Every time I see you, I want to pull you into my arms and kiss you."

Aria blushed and looked up with a smile. "I'm glad you feel that way, Zach. Because…I feel the same. I just wanted to give you some space after you broke up with Bethany, and I needed time to decide if my feelings were real. And…they are. They always have been."

Zach took Aria's chin in his hand and leaned her head up before gingerly pressing his lips to hers. If possible, it was even better than their last kiss.

They had been through a lot, and knowing Claire and Owen, there was probably more to come, but as long as Zach and Aria had each other with Gray by their side, they knew that they could accomplish anything that was thrown their way. Absolutely anything.


End file.
